A newspaper article evolved into a scholarship
October 7, 2020
A newspaper article inspired Elizabeth Burress to reach out to the University of Cincinnati’s College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH). After reading about students in CECH’s Transition and Access Program (TAP) in her local newspaper and its impact on students, Burress wanted to help.
As part of Advancement & Transition Services in CECH, TAP is a four-year college program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. TAP students live on campus, take classes, join student organizations and work on life skills.
Reading about TAP’s impact on people’s lives made an impression on Burress because of her personal volunteer history. As a teenager, she volunteered at Camp Stepping Stones, a nonprofit providing pathways to independence for people with disabilities. As an adult, she has been an education aide in the Sycamore Community School District.
This experience and a mutual love of UC sparked a conversation between Elizabeth and husband Brian, BS ‘91.
“We know the expenses some of these students have—wheelchairs, medicines, speech boards, therapies—and a lot of families can’t afford to send them to school,” Elizabeth said. “We want these students to have access to college.”
The kind and generous nature of Elizabeth and Brian caused them to set up a scholarship fund doing exactly this—supporting TAP students and providing life-changing opportunities. By creating the TAP Into The Future Scholarship Fund, the couple are helping students to experience the TAP mission to live, work, learn and lead.